The South Korean parent of South Windsor-based Doosan Fuel Cell America said it's begun work on a plant in its home country that will be its largest-ever project.

The 50-megawatt plant, which according to several Korean news outlets has a price tag of approximately $225 million, is located in the South Chungcheong Province, on the country's eastern coast.

The plant's shareholders, Korea East-West Power and Hanwha Energy, selected Doosan for the work. Doosan said the project, slated for completion in 2020, will be the world's first large-scale fuel cell plant running off hydrogen, rather than natural gas -- a method that doesn't generate air pollutants, but has been used only in smaller projects, the company said.

Doosan called the plant "a critical turning point for the hydrogen economy" and said it's getting attention from the U.S. China, Japan and Europe.

The plant is expected to generate 400,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year, enough to power 160,000 homes.